An apartment building in Saskatoon is shown in this image provided by radio station 650 CKOM. Investigators are blaming lack of boiler maintenance and a deteriorated chimney for a buildup of carbon monoxide gas in a Saskatoon apartment block where a woman was found dead this week. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-650 CKOM

SASKATOON — Investigators are blaming lack of boiler maintenance and a deteriorated chimney for a buildup of carbon monoxide gas in a Saskatoon apartment block where a woman was found dead this week.

The 41-year-old woman was discovered Wednesday morning in a suite in the west-end block.

Emergency officials said at the time that CO levels in the building were three times higher than their threshold to prompt an evacuation.

Saskatoon Fire Department assistant chief Wayne Rodger said Thursday there was a leak that allowed the colourless and odourless gas to escape from the exhaust system and build up in the block’s interior.

An autopsy was scheduled Thursday to determine the exact cause of the woman’s death.

Ten residents remain out of their homes and are being helped by the Red Cross until heat and hot water services are restored.

In 2008, Saskatchewan adopted a building code to make it mandatory for new homes to be fitted with CO detectors.

Owners of buildings constructed before 2008, such as the block where the leak occurred, do not have to adhere to the current standard.

“I would anticipate that due to our climate and the information I’m getting from the code writers, there will most likely come a day when installing a carbon monoxide detector will be retroactive in all residential homes,” said Rodger. (CKOM, CTV Saskatoon)